blargney the second
blargney the minute's son
Eye candy battlemaps rock. My little plastic homies and I love to play with them.
How do you feel about miniatures?
- Thread starter Mercurius
- Start date
Gothmog
First Post
LOVE LOVE LOVE minis! I got into the hobby when I was 10 and was over at a friend's house whose older brother played D&D, and he had some old Ral Partha minis. They were painted like crap, but I still thought they were so cool- and it made me really want to play the game that used them.
Ever since I started gaming in 1983, I've used them. For me, they really spark my imagination and get me into the game- but in a kind of unusual way. You see, when I paint minis is when I come up with my best gaming stuff- usually from a DM's point of view, but ideas for PCs pop into my head too. I'm not sure why this is- maybe because I'm so focused when painting that my brain is on overdrive, and not thinking about my lectures or work in lab, that I have more attentional resources to devote to really consider gaming- I'm not entirely sure.
Mostly, I prefer lead/pewter minis. I have probably 10,000 minis stowed in totes, foam-padded boxes, etc. To me, the pewter minis are a lot more detailed and fun to play with, but I do occasionally buy pre-painted plastic minis if its something I can't get in pewter (like a devourer for example) and repaint it.
When I hear people say they hate using minis because it kills their imagination, I have to wonder what the disconnect is. Now, I've been in groups where the DM just set minis on the table and started a fight with almost no evocative description- and that does ruin the fun for me. I suspect people who really hate minis might hate them for this reason- the DM got lazy and just runs a series of battles. When I DM, I try to imagine the location or situation in my head first, then describe it in detail to the PCs....and only then do I whip out minis and draw the area on a battlemat if combat is going to happen.
I really don't understand the mutual exclusivity some people believe in when it comes to minis and role-playing- thats never been a problem for me or my group, but maybe someone can explain it to me.
Ever since I started gaming in 1983, I've used them. For me, they really spark my imagination and get me into the game- but in a kind of unusual way. You see, when I paint minis is when I come up with my best gaming stuff- usually from a DM's point of view, but ideas for PCs pop into my head too. I'm not sure why this is- maybe because I'm so focused when painting that my brain is on overdrive, and not thinking about my lectures or work in lab, that I have more attentional resources to devote to really consider gaming- I'm not entirely sure.
Mostly, I prefer lead/pewter minis. I have probably 10,000 minis stowed in totes, foam-padded boxes, etc. To me, the pewter minis are a lot more detailed and fun to play with, but I do occasionally buy pre-painted plastic minis if its something I can't get in pewter (like a devourer for example) and repaint it.
When I hear people say they hate using minis because it kills their imagination, I have to wonder what the disconnect is. Now, I've been in groups where the DM just set minis on the table and started a fight with almost no evocative description- and that does ruin the fun for me. I suspect people who really hate minis might hate them for this reason- the DM got lazy and just runs a series of battles. When I DM, I try to imagine the location or situation in my head first, then describe it in detail to the PCs....and only then do I whip out minis and draw the area on a battlemat if combat is going to happen.
I really don't understand the mutual exclusivity some people believe in when it comes to minis and role-playing- thats never been a problem for me or my group, but maybe someone can explain it to me.
Amphimir Míriel said:
FWIW, I actually have some minis (for the Star Wars game I ran); it's just that the guys who normally run D&D for our group have plenty of minis, so I don't have any, and it doesn't bother me a lot if my mini's the wrong race, equipped with the wrong weapon, or whatever (mostly because I had a long run of playing wizards that dressed just like any other person, and wizard minis tend to robes and pointy hats).
I voted in the second category. I love minis, but I can game without them, and have done so.
Personally, I can't detect any change in the number of gamers who use or don't use them as the D&D revisions came by...or even in different systems. Minis use has always seemed to be to me a personal choice rather than a mandate by a given ruleset. (It does make some combat moves easier, though.)
I have, OTOH, noticed that some players are more comfortable with them than they used to be.
***
For the record, I've used minis since the very first game I played, back in 1977- and still have one of my original 2 minis (one got lost in a move).
Currently, I've easily got enough metal minis to take up the space of a Harley-Davidson Trike or a small econobox car, and enough plastic minis to make a sidecar, covering fantasy, superheroes and sci-fi. I may have a few western minis as well.
Personally, I can't detect any change in the number of gamers who use or don't use them as the D&D revisions came by...or even in different systems. Minis use has always seemed to be to me a personal choice rather than a mandate by a given ruleset. (It does make some combat moves easier, though.)
I have, OTOH, noticed that some players are more comfortable with them than they used to be.
***
For the record, I've used minis since the very first game I played, back in 1977- and still have one of my original 2 minis (one got lost in a move).
Currently, I've easily got enough metal minis to take up the space of a Harley-Davidson Trike or a small econobox car, and enough plastic minis to make a sidecar, covering fantasy, superheroes and sci-fi. I may have a few western minis as well.
frankthedm
First Post
Love minis, but favoring pre-painted plastic since I am easily distracted away from painting. Action figures make awsome monsters and giants.
Not a fan of using counters, though i will make colages of video game sprites useful as counters
Not a fan of using counters, though i will make colages of video game sprites useful as counters
Spinachcat
First Post
I like gaming with and without minis, depending on the game system. Usually figs are good for rough placement and I enjoy bringing in 3D terrain pieces to set the scene as a diorama.
However, D&D 4e combat is a miniatures boardgame and that means you need a minis and a board to play. Fortunately, it is tremendously fun minis boardgame so I don't mind. You are smoking da ganja if you think you can accurately play 4e without square maps and character markers of some sort. The game is designed for figs as much as Warhammer is designed for figs.
BTW, the D&D Dungeon Tiles are really nice! The DDM figs are okay. They are cheap pre-paints which means I have no work to do and thus makes them infinitely cooler than any fig that needs assembling and painting.
However, D&D 4e combat is a miniatures boardgame and that means you need a minis and a board to play. Fortunately, it is tremendously fun minis boardgame so I don't mind. You are smoking da ganja if you think you can accurately play 4e without square maps and character markers of some sort. The game is designed for figs as much as Warhammer is designed for figs.
BTW, the D&D Dungeon Tiles are really nice! The DDM figs are okay. They are cheap pre-paints which means I have no work to do and thus makes them infinitely cooler than any fig that needs assembling and painting.
Wombat
First Post
I did minis pre-D&D.
I try to avoid them now, which is why I prefer non-D&D games -- less of a requirement for combat.
I must admit that I also dislike the "false-God's-eye-view" that minis give. While apparently giving "real tactical information", instead the players know too much about the battlefield, compared to real combatants (...as I know far too well from SCA battles... say whatever else you want about the SCA, at least you learn that once you are in armour, you have a very limited field of perception).
I try to avoid them now, which is why I prefer non-D&D games -- less of a requirement for combat.
I must admit that I also dislike the "false-God's-eye-view" that minis give. While apparently giving "real tactical information", instead the players know too much about the battlefield, compared to real combatants (...as I know far too well from SCA battles... say whatever else you want about the SCA, at least you learn that once you are in armour, you have a very limited field of perception).
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